ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s livestock including cattle and chicken are facing malnutrition due to the lack of feed, vitamins and rising costs, the island’s state veterinarians said as the forex crisis driven by money printing hits imports.
“We have been monitoring the crisis for sometimes and have informed the relevantauthorizes on how to protect the lives of these animals, but we have been ignored,” Nuwan Hewagamage Secretary of the State Veterinary Surgeons Association told reporters in Colombo.
“This has created a crisis in the industry.”
The association is calling for subsidies to help the livestock but the government is running a large budget deficit after hiring 50,000 unemployed graduates and giving a billion US dollar relief package for humans in January on top of an existing budget deficit.
There are shortages of maize, rice polish and soyabean, while prices are rising.
“Animals can’t be kept hungry like humans,” Hewagamage said. “Farmers are moving away from the industry and culling layer chicken for meat.”
Officials said cattle are also facing shortages of feed concentrate while prices are soaring.
The Veterinarians said some animals are falling sick and there was a shortage of antibiotics, anesthetics and medicine needed for operations.
There were signs that milk output was falling.
Officials say it is unfortunate that domestic milk production is falling while imported milk is also reducing due to forex shortages while the rupee collapse has driven up prices, making dairy products and meats unaffordable to many.
